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David Dwork
Oct 17, 2023
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Florida wrapped up its season opening road trip with a 1-2-0 record

John Jones-USA TODAY Sports - Panthers withstand Devils comeback effort, end road trip with 4-3 victory in New JerseyJohn Jones-USA TODAY Sports - Panthers withstand Devils comeback effort, end road trip with 4-3 victory in New Jersey

The Florida Panthers wrapped up their season opening three-game road trip with a much-needed victory on Monday night in New Jersey.

Florida jumped all over host Devils, leading 4-0 at one point early in the third period.

New Jersey came storming back with three goals the final frame, two of which were scored while the Devils were on the power play, but ultimately it was the Panthers who came away with a 4-3 win.

It seemed apparent from the onset that Florida was going to play a much more disciplined game than we saw on Saturday in Winnipeg.

Smart, responsible backchecking with players quick to cover for one another across the board was the case for much of the game for Florida.

The Panthers gave up a pair of power plays to the Devils during the third period, and both times Jersey found a way to put the puck in the net, closing the gap and giving the home crowd something to get excited about.

A player who was locked in for Florida from start to finish was goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky.

Finishing the game with 33 saves, Bobrovsky came up huge time and time again for the Panthers.

Next up for Florida will be Thursday night’s home opener against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Here are some thoughts and observations from Monday’s game in Newark:

Sasha Barkov had his most noticeable game of the season and starting the night by setting a physical tone.

Evan Rodrigues continues to look good with Cats. He’s up to five points in his first three games in a Panthers sweater.

A pair of goals for Sam Reinhart, No. 200 and 201 of his NHL career. He’s now got three goals in his past two games.

After winning just 40% of their faceoffs on Saturday in Winnipeg, the Panthers came out slightly on top Monday, winning 52% against the Devils.

A big part of that success was Eetu Luostarinen, who won 14 of his 23 draws (60.9%). He’s up to 56.5% on the season in the faceoff circle.

Florida’s penalty kill, led by Barkov, Reinhart, Dmitry Kulikov and Oliver Ekman-Larsson, put in some serious work.

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